SAN FRANCISCO – In a match that saw plenty of scares on both sides, Academy of Art volleyball stood triumphant over Holy Names 3-2 (26-24, 17-25, 25-17, 25-27, 15-10) inside Kezar Pavilion on Halloween night. Among the numerous highlights of the two-hour rollercoaster ride, redshirt senior middle blocker Safua Elisaia became the program's new career blocks record-holder after she tallied three rejections to go with a season-high 13 kills and a career-high 19 digs. Freshman middle blocker Jillian Wheaton led the Urban Knights with 14 kills (on a .522 hitting percentage) and added nine blocks including a pair of solo blocks.

Though Academy of Art held small leads early on in the first set, it was not until a run from a 14-14 tie that the frame took a significant shift. Elisaia connected on back-to-back kills and Wheaton provided the next two during a 4-1 run that was later supplemented by a 3-0 push in which junior opposite Kiersten Kerch logged a kill and joined Wheaton on a block. Those two would put away kills one after the other shortly thereafter to make it 23-19, but a 5-1 response from Holy Names provided quite the shock. ART U regathered its rhythm and used an Elisaia kill plus a miscue by the Hawks to secure the 26-24 victory.

The second set saw HNU quickly rally back as the visitors got ahead 8-3 then 19-9 and, despite short bursts from Academy of Art, eventually a 25-17 win to even the match. Freshman setter Picabo Reinhold then opened the third with a pair of service aces and ART U found itself up 8-6 before Holy Names took the lead following four unanswered points. Redshirt senior libero Lyndsay Mlynar then delivered two more service aces to put her team in front once again. Aces were the theme of the set as the Knights connected for seven in total including another by Mlynar during ART U's decisive 7-1 close to a 25-17 triumph. Elisaia, who had become the program's career blocks leader with her 304th rejection in the second frame, also recorded two more blocks during that surge to the finish.

Set four was all Academy of Art out of the gate. Wheaton had hands in the first three points, putting down a kill then a block assist and a block solo en route to the Knights' 8-1 start. To ART U's dismay, however, Holy Names roared back with seven straight and the teams began anew at 8-8. Sophomore outside hitter Ashley Pawlak's kill then sparked a 6-3 run for Academy of Art and she would key another 5-1 push shortly thereafter. In the late stages, ART U was on top 23-19, but could not quite put away HNU with a 3-0 run coming before the Knights had set point. The Hawks would then proceed to score five of the final six points, stealing the set 27-25.

With the match up for grabs in the fifth set, a kill by Kerch and two more back-to-back from Pawlak gave the Knights their first multi-point advantage at 6-4. The frame's biggest shift then came in a 4-0 burst that saw Elisaia and Wheaton each notch kills plus another solo block for Wheaton. Up 11-6, ART U would trade points with their cross-bridge rival and ultimately it was Pawlak who finished off the set 15-10 for the win.

With the victory, Academy of Art is now 1-25 overall and 1-17 in PacWest play. In addition to Elisaia's milestones and Wheaton's efficiency both offensively and defensively, two double-doubles came from the ART U roster. Pawlak posted 12 kills and 12 digs for her eighth combo of the season and Reinhold provided 40 assists with 11 digs marking her ninth time finishing in double figures in each of those categories in the same contest. Kerch and Emery combined for 17 kills while Mlynar's second-highest dig total of the year came in the form of 20 digs.

Holy Names moves to 3-21 on the season and 2-16 in conference with the loss. Maddy Standley (13 kills), Sierra Allen (12 kills), and Mariah Leal (12 kills) led the way for the Hawks.

ART U makes a brief roadtrip to battle Fresno Pacific for the second time this season on Friday, Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. inside the Sunbirds' Special Events Center before returning home once more for Senior Night on Monday, Nov. 5 versus Dominican.